Applications from older and part-time students to study at UK universities continued to lag while overall applications increased by 3% this year, according the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).

The latest figures covering applications to the end of June show an improvement in the number of 18- and 19-year-olds applying to study in September compared with the same point in 2012. But the overall total remains below the peak of 2011, before tuition fees were raised to £9,000.

According to Ucas, 637,500 students applied for a university place this year, compared with 618,250 last year and 670,000 in 2011.

The 2013 total includes 5,000 more 18-year-olds, most of them school leavers, despite a decline in the number of 18-year-olds in the population. But there was a fall in applicants aged 24 and above, and most notably over-30s.

Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the universities group million+, said the drop in older students was worrying. "Until there is a full recovery in applications from mature and part-time students it would be premature to claim that the 2012 funding system in England has been a success," she said.

"Ministers need to redouble their efforts to promote the value of higher education by funding and supporting a high-profile campaign to get this message through to older people and to those interested in studying for a degree part-time."

The highest demand has been for courses in computer sciences, up 10%, and biology, up 7%. Applications to study European languages have fallen by 5%, with only 21,000 applicants in total. In contrast, 145,000 applied to study engineering, and 123,000 to study law.

One in 10 applicants live outside the UK. The EU supplied 43,000 while 65,000 came from the rest of the world, an increase of 6% despite the imposition of tighter visa restrictions.